


Nomads of the Pokémon World

by K_A_Baines



Category: Earth's Children - Jean M. Auel, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Berries, Dreams, Gen, Hunting, Survival, Tribe - Freeform, Vegetarian, hopes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-29 22:14:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12094575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K_A_Baines/pseuds/K_A_Baines
Summary: Ever what a prehistoric world would be like in the Pokéworld? Yup, neither did I until my thoughts drifted off and tadaaah, a story was created. Throughout the anime there are a few hints at le humans eating le Pokémon. I remembered Ash dreaming of a grilled Magikarp (no joke, it's legit), and started researching it on internet. Turns out there's a whole load of people out there discussing this... So this is essentially my twist on how humans mostly stopped eating Pokémon. I used mainly the first three generations (yeah, old school, I know), except for when it was convenient for me, hehe...Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated, and I have a great loathing for spelling errors so let me know if you find any - please!





	1. Chapter 1

“STOP!” she shouted. Instantly, the Stantler looked up at her. It realized it was being hunted, and ran, hundreds of other Stantlers seemingly appearing out of nowhere, masking the real creature.  
The arrow that had meant to hit the creature thudded into a tree, shrouded by a bush.  
Zork turned to her, glowering with a venom she had become accustomed to.  
“What are you doing, woman? You are supposed to be gathering! Stop meddling and know your place!” he snapped.  
“I know my place very well! It is in between you and the pokémon,” she glared back defiantly.  
The big man snarled, raising his burly hand to hit her.  
“Zork. Control yourself.” Iser said, stepping from behind a bunch of trees, a frown on his face. He looked at her and sighed in disappointment. “Reva, we’ve discussed this.”  
“We never discussed anything!”  
“I told you...”  
“And I told you that there’s more to them than just meat!”  
“Yes. Yes, there is. That stantler’s antlers could have been used by our medicine woman. We could have whittled its bones. Used its organs as water bags. Killing it wouldn’t let it go to waste!”  
“There are plenty of herbs she can use instead! And we have stones that make sturdier weapons, and we can find bones if you really need them! There are other ways of transporting water. There is no need to kill them.”  
“Enough of this. Go back to camp.”  
“But...” the look she got told her she’d already gone far enough. She sighed deeply, returned Zork’s glare with a poisonous one of her own before spinning on her heel and heading back through the forest.  
Why couldn’t they all just see it? Why were they all such brutes driven by that filthy desire for flesh of pokemon? Why couldn’t they just make do with fish like she did?  
She never touched any of the meat, no matter how they probed and pestered her. It was against her belief, against her nature.  
A couple mankeys screeched, and she smiled up at them, watching them swing from tree to tree.  
Zork would have shot them, she thought bitterly, despising him to the very marrow of his bones.  
Camp was another few minutes at a brisk pace, but she kept stopping to watch when she saw glimpses of them. An oddish scuttling in the undergrowth, a caterpie crawling up rough bark, a flock of pidgeys disturbed by the sound of a branch she’d stepped on.  
“Reva!” her mother ran over to her, gripping her by her arm. “Where did you run off to? I was so worried!”  
“I didn’t go far mumma,” she said, pulling away and walking over to the others, helping them sort leaves for the evening meal with careful precision.  
It took several hours before all the men had returned. Zork had come back empty-handed. As future leader of the clan it would damage his ego. That felt nice.  
But the look she got from Iser made her cheeks burn in guilt. He walked over to her and her mother.  
“Elia, keep her in check! She ran off again and scared the pokémon with her yelling.”  
Her mother turned to her, bristling in anger.  
“What?”  
Reva looked aside, feet itching to run away.  
“You are going to have responsibilities towards the entire clan soon, Reva. You can’t do things like that.”  
“What do you mean responsibilities to the entire clan?” her voice cracked to a higher octave. She saw the look her mother and the clan leader shared. Saw their glance at Zork.  
A chill crept up her spine.  
No...  
And with that she was gone, sprinting into the darkness, voices shouting out her name, begging her to come back, to talk, to think logically.  
It should be an honour.  
Instead it felt like a curse.  
With tears streaming over her cheeks she crashed through the undergrowth, the sun sinking faster and faster, night swallowing day.  
It didn’t take long after that for her to completely lose her way.  
She hadn’t been thinking straight. She’d never been in the woods alone after dark before. Suddenly it all didn’t seem too inviting.  
But, being too stubborn, she didn’t backtrack. Didn’t call out for help. Instead, seeking refuge somewhere desperately - blindly.  
And then there was a small light. An illuminated orb hanging in the air, before zooming off between the trees.  
She’d heard of them before - wisps. They would try to get you last at night, make you run off a cliff... but she was already lost.  
Sprinting - which was more part falling and part scrambling over roots - after the light, another one appeared relatively close to it. Then another one. And another one.  
The feeling of stepping out into wide, open space made her stop. A myriad of lights were swirling together, drawing shapes in the air.  
Their combined light reflected off of the water, and back up, revealing the volbeats. They were beautiful.  
A chirping sound made her spin. A young illumise was half-hidden by a tree, looking at her with fearful eyes.  
She smiled, and slowly turned back to the light works. She could sense its curiosity, knew it had forgotten all about the swarm of suitors several feet away, approaching the human girl.  
Its wings were fluttering furiously like its nerves, but it pressed its head against her hand anyway.  
She gasped - she’d never known an illumise was soft. She petted the creature, getting down on her haunches to look at the big eyes.  
The illumise chirped happily when she scratched it behind its antennae.  
It started to smell sweet, and she wasn’t the only one who could smell it. The volbeats buzzed and turned to their female counterpart. Saw the human. Made to attack.  
But the illumise stood between them with a determination so fierce, it stopped the flock of angry bugs.  
They twittered, but the illumise held her ground firmly, until the last one had gone back to his choreographed dance. This time they had someone to impress.  
The illumise pulled her to a tree. She sat down, looking up, the pokémon merrily sitting on her lap. Even though her stomach growled, she was safe and warm.  
The beautiful display slowly mesmerized her into sleep.

When she woke, the forest was already abuzz with life. There were a couple of woopers playing around in the water, but other than that, the pond was a desolate place. She looked down at the warm fuzziness curled up on her lap, wings neatly folded.  
The illumise was snoring ever so slightly. When she ran a hand over the pokémon’s head, it snuggled in deeper. Like a human child would. The thought made her smile.  
A buzzing, and a group of volbeats came into view, heading straight over to her. The illumise stirred and rose up slightly, giving a wide yawn as she watched the group of men approach.  
They were shy, dropping to the ground a few feet away and waddling over tentatively, still unsure of the human girl. They held out what they’d collected for her: they’d raided a Nanab tree.  
With awe and gratitude, she received the gifts, and they sat down around them, chatting with each other, slowly becoming more and more comfortable around her as she peeled the fruit and shared it with them all before eating herself. The illumise was beating its wings enthusiastically as it ate the sweet berry.  
Maybe she... maybe she didn’t need to go back?  
Just as she thought that, the forest seemed to go quiet. And she wasn’t the only one who felt the threat. The volbeats floated up, instantly alert, looking around.  
The thrum of a pulled string sounded, and a second later, the arrow piercing one of the volbeats just below its neckband.  
Instantly she was up, shouting and screaming at them. The illumise clung to her, but she pulled it off, pointing towards where her companions had flown off to.  
“Please! Please! GO!” she shouted at it as another arrow flew by, barely missing it. When it had disappeared, she knelt down besides the fallen pokémon, her trembling hands looking for life, but finding none.  
The hunters stepped out into the open. Without thinking, she attacked him.  
“Zork, you monster!” she screeched, pounding into him. He was stunned by her force, and stumbled away, protecting his face, before composing himself again.  
Iser pulled her off, shouting her name, but her world had gone red. She wanted blood for blood. “How dare you kill it? How could you kill it?” she was sobbing now, hair a mess. But the pain in her chest was crippling, like being torn apart from the inside out. How could he? How could he? Such a gentle creature...  
“Meat is meat - the clan must eat!” Zork snapped.  
Another fit of rage seized her - her nails were inches from his eyes before Iser managed to catch her again, pulling her back.  
“Reva, stop it!”  
“Why did you come?” she demanded, wiping the tears from her eyes and standing defiantly across from the men of the clan.  
“We came to find you. To bring you back. To make sure you were safe,” they offered, but she didn’t accept their worry.  
“How did you find me?”  
“I followed your trail,” Zork said triumphantly. “It was so obvious, even our youngest hunter could have followed you here. But good thing you did, now we have new hunting ground.”  
She’d led them here. The woopers in the lake would die. Any volbeats returning would die. Everything in the vicinity would die. Would be skinned. Would be eaten.  
“I will refuse you if you hunt here,” she said. Zork stiffened, looking up at their leader who was gawking at her.  
“That’s not your decision to make,” Zork growled, deeming it to be a threat to his masculinity.  
“Yes, it is.” There was no room for argument. She knew that no matter how many glares he gave her, or however many times she provoked him, his eyes had always been on her, waiting for her to be of age. And now she was threatening him with rejecting that perfect image he’d had in his mind. Of her leading by his side, taking care of the others, complimenting - just once - him on his hunting.  
“Reva, it is time to head back to camp.”  
One of the men made to pick up the volbeat but she stepped between them.  
“No. You go back. I will follow.” She tilted her head up defiantly, challenging them to step forward, but the fire in her eyes...  
Zork turned on his heel and disappeared into the forest. The men followed him, unsure glances passing over their leader and her.  
Iser turned to her. “I will give you a little while. If I become impatient, I will return to collect you.” She nodded, and looked away, kneeling down on the ground.  
The illumise was the first to appear again. Soon an entire swarm followed, a mix of volbeats and illumises. They took their dead friend from her, holding him above the water as they danced around him in some deathrite that made her emotions swell up in her chest, overflowing to pour over her cheeks.  
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered when two carried the body off into the trees. “I’m so, so sorry. I led them here. I didn’t mean to, but it’s all my fault...” They swarmed around her. She could sense their anger, still so terribly fresh, but she also felt their forgiveness towards her. Acknowledging that she had meant no harm. That she had treated them with the respect they’d always been seeking from humans. She hadn’t hunted them, even though she’d led the hunters here.  
They promised her a home if she needed it.  
Then they slowly drifted off. The illumise nuzzled into her hand affectionately, before following the rest.  
With leaden limbs, she rose, trudging into the trees. Iser stood there waiting for her, wanted to comfort her but not knowing how. So he merely stood over her as she retched up the Nanab berries.  
Her entire body was shaking - she was barely managing to stand. Iser hoisted her onto his back and carried her the rest of the way.  
Some of the hunters had already dispersed again, but the women were sitting around, worrying and fussing. When they came into view, they squealed, her mother running up to them, seeing the deathly pale girl.  
“What happened? They wouldn’t tell me! Iser, what happened to her? Oh, my little girl...” Her mother plucked her from Iser, but she tried to fend the worried woman off.  
“She will be fine with some rest.”

“Mumma, I’m alright now,” she said for the hundredth time. As always she wished her mother wouldn’t fuss over her so much. It was a good day to collect greens - they were losing valuable sunlight by sitting here, but her mother had refused to let her budge, keeping her under their make-shift roof, forcing her to sip water every once in awhile, even offering her some bone broth, which she refused to eat with fiery disdain.  
So she got some berries to eat instead.  
“What happened, Reva?”  
“They murdered a Pokémon.”  
“Don’t say murdered, Reva. They’re hunters, that’s what they do.”  
“No, mumma. They murdered him. Zork murdered him.”  
“We need meat, Reva.”  
“No we don’t! We have fish, we have berries and we have so much more! We don’t need to kill them!”  
“Why can’t we kill them?” her mother asked, frustrated and unable to see through the eyes of her one and only daughter.  
“They are not mindless!”  
Her mother stared at her. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she turned away from her mother, frustrated by herself. Why couldn’t she explain it? Why couldn’t she convince them?  
She felt her mother rise and move away from her.  
Resting her head, her fatigue hit her like a tidal wave. It didn’t take long to fall asleep. 

Groggily, she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and looking around the camp. Her mother had gone off, and nobody else had returned. She hoisted herself up, and slid into the trees at a quick pace, trying to put as much distance between herself and the camp.  
She went to the lake.  
She remembered their late clan elder, sitting with a fishing rod, always able to catch something that was not a pokémon. She would cook it and share it with those who would promise not to touch meat for the rest of the night. The elder was fond of her, despite his different view on their meat source.  
The banks were green and lush with grass and moss, the water was a clean blue, yet to have ever seen the likes of pollution. She walked to the far bank so she could see others coming from camp if they chose to follow. It was quiet here. The sun kissed her face. A poliwag popped up, then another. They looked at her, and she smiled back, never making any sudden movements. Eventually, they dipped back down, only to appear every once in a while in play.  
The trees rustled in the wind. This place truly was amazing.  
In the corner of her eye, she noticed something moving. A group of stantlers stood looking at her. When she looked one of them in the eye, she felt herself becoming dizzy under its hypnosis, and lowered her eyes in response, indicating her submission.  
Hesitantly they neared, jumping back if they thought she moved. Soon they surrounded her, their alpha looking down at her, sniffing at her with all his courage. She let him, felt his wet, rough nose on her arm and bit her lip to stop herself from smiling or laughing.  
He snorted and rose to his full height before turning his back on her and walking to the water’s edge, taking a drink, followed by the rest of the group.  
Several very young stantler neared her daringly under the careful supervision of their mothers, but she sat calmly, watching them, grazing closer and closer to her before trying to nibble at her hair.  
They jumped back when she giggled, all of them immediately alert, but they soon understood she did not pose a threat, going back to grazing and drinking.  
An ursaring with two teddiursas rolled into the clearing, acknowledging the stantlers, their gaze lingering on her before they, too, took a drink. They did not linger long, but the sight of the two cubs was imprinted on her mind’s eye.  
Why would anyone want to harm these creatures?  
Several butterfrees dipped into the open sky of the clearing. Seeing no flowers, they moved on again with that distinct twittering of theirs.  
She was pulled from her daydream when she felt the hot breath of one of the adult stantlers on her shoulder. Careful not to scare it, she turned her head at the creature and raised her hand towards it.  
It sniffed her again before pressing into her palm.  
The alpha squeaked, and the adult stantler drew away calmly, following its pack back into the undergrowth.  
After taking another few moments to herself, she headed back, disturbing a few bellsprouts and a sunflora.  
The group glanced at her when she returned, but kept at their work like usual, not offering any extra greeting nor ignoring her. There was a grumpig spitting over the open flame. She looked away in disgust and walked over to the women cleaning some of the greens they’d harvested as she’d done nothing. It made her feel guilty, but they let her help.  
Dinner was alive with conversation as the meat was passed around. It wasn’t even offered to her anymore. The oldest woman of their tribe sat down next to her as she bit into a razz berry.  
“Why don’t you go congratulate Zork on his excellent hunt today?” the woman asked, motioning to the pig, oblivious to her refusal to eat meat.  
“Reva,” her mother warned in a cool tone behind her.  
“I did not know he had killed it. I will remember it,” she said. The old woman seemed happy at that reply, her eyesight obviously beginning to fail her as the look Reva had on her face spelled pain for the hunter.  
The woman tried fishing for more conversation, but Reva was dry of anything, unwilling to talk. She bluntly retired to her and her mother’s corner and curled up under a flax blanket. It took a very long time, however, for her to fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Her mother getting ready for the day woke her. Leftovers and scraps were eaten as breakfast before they went on their own ways, the men hunting and fishing, the women off gathering.   
A gathering basket was pushed into her hands, the message obvious: her slacking of the day before would not be tolerated again.   
They went off as a group, chittering about this and that, but mostly focussed on work.  
“Try not to stray too much,” her mother told her when she saw Reva slacking behind. A sigh was the response.  
Elia worried about her daughter. The child had such a good future planned out for her: a partnership with the best hunter and future leader of their clan. But she didn’t want it. Didn’t want meat either. Such a strange child - it made her wonder what she’d done wrong.  
She was so lost in her own thought that she hadn’t noticed Reva slipping away.

She returned to the tranquil lake, drank from the cool water, greeted the poliwags with a kindly smile and scavenged around the place, finding only some herbs and roots - nothing too impressive.   
Satisfied she would at least have something, she sat back down and stayed there, her wait eventually paying off.  
The same herd trundled by again. They greeted her with the same level of caution as before, but acclimatized much faster. Again, the same stantler rested its head on her shoulder. She stroked its head, gazed at its antlers in wonder.   
Too quickly the alpha signaled for them to leave again. Too quickly she was left feeling alone again.  
Lamenting the soft fur of the stantler, she grabbed her basket and walked deeper into the trees, following them in their footsteps a little ways, finding several berry trees ripe for picking. As was tradition, she cut open one of the fruits and pushed the seeds back into the ground before eating what was left of it.  
Then she headed back to camp.  
They were happy with her loot, though her mother was chilly towards her.  
None of the hunters had managed to catch anything. So they were all forced to eat a vegetarian diet tonight. That, at least, perked up her mood.  
She could feel Zork’s eyes on her again. Her appetite disappeared.   
A noctowl called out. She looked up and saw its shadow pass over the moon. Such a magnificent beast it was, gone too quick.   
Better that it didn’t linger, she reminded herself, looking down at the hunters, scowling.   
She caught Iser’s eyes, and quickly averted her gaze down to her bowl of vegetables, finishing them to avoid her mother’s concern.

She’d finally managed to escape from them. She sat there waiting, hoping.   
Luck was on her side. Again the same stantler hoard came to visit the clearing with its cool water. This time they greeted her without fear, instead with a great calm she hadn't felt from them before.  
Hot breath on her shoulder. Automatically she reached up, already smiling. But the entire structure of the pokémon’s face was different.   
She turned her head and gasped. It was not a stantler that rested its head upon her, but a mythical creature with old, knowing eyes. Four great horns extended on both side of its head in a pale blue that reminded her of a misty sky, dark blue gems decorating them symmetrically. The horns also extended onto its face, separating blue fur from black. Its eyes were the same colour as its dark teal fur, pupils in the shape of an x.   
“Young one, do not be afraid,” the voice reverberated around her skull, dizzying her.   
“You... you can speak?” the pokémon looked at her quizzically. She laughed out loud. “I’m imagining things...”  
She raised her hand up again and strokes the beautiful creature’s jaw.  
“You’re magnificent,” she whispered. “Nobody would believe me if I told them I saw a pokémon like you. I couldn't tell them. Zork would try hunting you.”  
“And why do you not hunt us?”  
It was a question she’d asked herself often, but the voice still wasn’t her own. She looked at the creature.  
“There’s so much more to pokémon than meat. They don’t see it, but I do. I want to protect you.”  
“But you are weak.” She looked away in shame. “However, young one, you have your own strength. And I, Xerneas,” she looked up at the deer-like pokémon with its head raised, “will help you in your quest. My brethren need not die by the hands of humans.”  
The pokémon really did have a voice. She gaped at it, astounded. How? It had not moved its lips nor tongue, and yet its voice had been crystal clear.  
Its muzzle pressed to her forehead, like a gentle kiss a mother gave her child. A wave of nausea coiled around her before dissipating, and leaving behind a new sense of the world around her; of the living, breathing organism she knew to be the forest, and all those that dwelt within it.  
It was like she had been dead before. The colours and the textures of the world were so much more vivid and amazing.  
The pale gold spread over its horns, the gems lighting up one by one in different magnificent colours that cast light upon its back in a display of rainbows.  
It was no longer looking at her.  
“A hunter is coming,” the call was directed at everything around them but the hunter, the stantlers did not second-guess Xerneas as they sprinted off into the forest with their young. Xerneas gave her a quick bow of acknowledgement before running off after them.  
She watched and waited, saw where he stood with his bow raised. He lowered it when he caught her eye. He turned and left.   
Snatching up her basket, she also went hunting for pokémon. But not to kill them.   
A small group of ladyba spotted her and followed her, buzzing with curiosity. With a smile on her face, she walked on to find a small clearing with oddishes, bellsprouts and venonats peering out upon it, looking at her.   
“I want to prove to them you’re all worth more than simply being hunted, but I need all of your help for it!” she started up quietly, more nervous than she was willing to admit. How would they react? The others were always scared of going off alone in case a flock of pokémon would attack them; she knew they wouldn’t hurt her, but the lesson had been ingrained into her, its mark only now showing.   
The bellsprouts turned their heads sideways, the venonats wriggling their arms as the oddishes hopped from foot to foot and the ladybas sat on branches to peer down at her.   
“We need to show them that a plant-based diet is perfectly fine! But I’m a terrible gatherer,” she admitted. “If... if you could help me... after all, you all know this region of the woods better than me...”   
They chirped and danced before scuttling into the undergrowth or buzzing off. She managed to find a razz berry tree, plucking all the ripe fruit she could find, again replanting some seeds.  
The pokémon found her with ease. They handed her fruit, roots, greens and mushrooms, piling up her basket until it could contain no more. They ladybas even tried to help her carry it a little ways to the camp before taking their leave - the bravest sticking around the longest.   
When her clan came in sight, one of the men spotted her, noticed her struggling and helped her, taking the basket out of her hands like it weighed nothing.   
She thanked him, her face reddening.  
“It’s good you found so much,” he said with a smile, “because we haven’t managed to kill anything today again. It’s like the pokémon know where we are... Iser already said we might need to move again. Follow the stantlers North.” He set down the basket by the other women. She thanked him, took out a knife and started preparing as praise from the women washed over her.   
It was too soon to tell them how exactly she’d managed to forage so much. They asked her where she’d gone, her answer was vague and unclear, but none took it as something to be suspicious about. In fact, her mother was so proud it hurt.  
But what mattered was that the clan ate well that night. No one was hungry, no one craved cooked flesh. And with every bite, she refused to meet Zork’s gaze.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, a wee spoiler here - there will be fish. If you look at the anime, manga and the movies, you'll find human-world fishies swimming about every once in a while. Don't ask me how or why - there are theories about this, too, but I'll spare you those.

For days she kept it up, getting help in harvesting more than she could carry, eventually even making several trips. Her mother didn’t bother asking her where she went anymore or how she did it. All the other women kept giving her curious glances. Zork’s anger grew.  
After a week had passed, Iser decided it was time for them to leave. They packed up their things, but before anyone could stop her she ran off into the woods.   
“THANK YOU~!” she shouted into the trees. Pokémon flocked to her faster than ever before. They had become her friends and she’d miss them all; the bellsprouts, the mankeys, the pikachus, the ledians, the skitties and the apoms. And they, in turn, would miss her.   
Some she petted, others she gave a quick peck, and to all she waved as she returned to her clan.  
“Reva, are you alright?” Zork asked when she walked past him. She cleared her throat, but her voice cracked with emotion anyway.  
“Yes, I’m fine.” She continued walking, but he caught her wrist. “I have to help clearing up...”  
“They’re nearly done - they managed so far without you. Where were you?”  
She snatched her hand away.  
“Nowhere.”   
He stepped very close to her, she could feel his breath on her skin.  
“Then why are you crying?”  
She gulped, cleared her throat again, stepped away and wiped away her tears, ignoring his voice as she headed over to her own meagre possessions to pack them up.

Even as they walked, the women foraged. But she was too busy trying to catch glimpses of the creatures in the forest. She could have sworn she’d seen a chansey.   
The hunters led them and brought up the rear, vigilant, like her, to see if there was anything worth risking an arrow for.  
Their camp that night was small but humble, sharing several smaller fires than they had grown accustomed to.   
And they went on like that for several days, even passing by a mountain range and several lakes.  
All before they found another clearing much like the one they’d camped in before. Zork proclaimed it to be fit for setting up a proper camp.   
They were lucky. Just after building their shelters, the first droplets of rain began to fall.  
The wood was too wet to light, so they ate the berries they had left. Most went to bed hungry to some degree. 

The following morning, the hunters got up early. They were gone before the women had even woken up.   
None of the women were bothered by it, as they had their own tasks to do.   
“Reva, are you...” her mother started before noticing she’d already left.   
She’d slipped into the trees, then set off at a run until she saw the first pokémon in the shadows.  
“Hiya, little guy!” she crouched down to look at a paras who chirped back when he realized she didn’t mean any harm. “There are hunters in the area - can you tell your friends? I don’t want anyone getting hurt...” Again he chirped and crawled away, leaving her to search for more.  
“Apom!” she called out when she saw a purple flash in the trees. He looked out from behind the bark and grinned, swinging himself down onto her shoulders.   
She told him the same thing as the paras, and he jumped onto a tree, hurrying away as fast as he could. In the distance she could hear him calling out to friends.   
Then she beckoned a flock of pidgeys - they all flew separate ways and quickened the entire ordeal significantly, calling down to any pokémon who could hear them.   
After that, she returned to camp, desolate but for a murkrow pecking about for some of the leftovers. It was about to fly off when it saw her, but she greeted it and walked to her own belongings, grabbing her basket, then turning to the pokémon.  
“Can you take me to the nearest lake? I want to try my hand at fishing.”  
The murkrow looked uncertainly at her, but then cawed and flapped its wings, slowly rising up to circle the camp as she grabbed a spare net, following the creature’s shadow through the woods.   
It was a deep but small lake. Lotads and lombres hung around in the shallows, hiding between the lilies as muskrits danced over the water.  
The murkrow cawed again, and she waved it off in thanks.   
She walked to the edge of the water, rolled up her skirt, and waded into the water. A lotad croaked and swam away furiously.   
With the net in her hands she faced the water, hurling it out as far as she could before pulling it back. Nothing. Absolutely nothing was caught in the net. Her next attempt caught a string of algae, the following a water plant.  
After her tenth attempt, she got the hang of the movement, but all the fish had been scared away at this side of the lake.  
She stepped out, dragging the heavy net with her to walk over the bank to the other side, and stepping further into the mud, taking a firm stance before throwing it again.  
When she pulled at the strings, she noticed it was stuck on something.  
A blue head bobbed up under the net, its tail outside, thrashing about.   
“Stop, stop, stay calm!” she pulled off her dress and threw it on the grass, standing in the cold air in her underwear. Wading into the water, she shushed the dratini as she removed the net from its head.  
When it was free, it called out in glee, swimming around her joyously. She laughed, stroking its head.  
“Sorry to get you caught up in the net. I’m trying to catch some fish, but it’s not going too well...”  
The dratini dove under and came up again in a matter of seconds with a fish flailing about in its mouth, offering it to her. Pokémon foraged for her. She’d never imagined they could also fish for her. New possibilities seemed endless - it was like a door to a new universe had been opened up for her.   
The dratini writhed around and shivered. It seemed to move faster as she watched it dive back under. Within minutes she had a basket of flopping fish, some with puncture wounds from the pokémon’s small teeth.  
She gutted them there and then, throwing the organs back into the water as food for the other creatures in the pool.  
The elegant snake moved around her, twisting its body protectively, looking curiously at how she whittled the knife, slicing open the belly, scraping off most of the scales, and opening up one side of its body to reveal the flesh, humming as she worked. When she was done, she put the knife into the basket along with the fish.  
“Can I come see you again in a couple days?” she looked up questioningly, and the dratini chirped in delight, rubbing its head against her cheek. She laughed, pushing it away playfully. “I have to get the fish back, but I’ll play with you next time!” she promised, grinning.   
Taking the basket, she waved her goodbye and headed back to camp, staking the fish on sticks right next to the fire to cook them.   
It did not take long for the clan to return, following their noses.   
One of the toddlers waddled up and tried to grab a fish, but she swatted his hand away.   
“It’s not done yet, you chubby mankey!” she scolded, wrapping her arms around him and planting a kiss on his round cheek. He squealed, trashed around and ran back to his mother.   
“You’re still good with children,” Zork complimented her with a small smile. Her face went blank when she looked at him, and just nodded as thanks before turning back to the fire, poking at it, and making sure it didn’t come too close to the browning meat.   
“What is this? Did you catch the fish, Reva?” Iser asked her, walking into camp.  
She lowered her eyes, her cheeks flushing. “Yes, I did.”   
“And how did you do that?”   
“I took one of the nets.”  
“Why didn’t you ask to take them, then?”  
“I’m sorry, Iser.” He sighed and shook his head.  
“Just ask next time. But I see you have an affinity with the net!” he patted her head when she handed him the first cooked fish. The rest of the clan attacked the meat, licking their fingers.  
After that came plentiful amounts of berries that the women had managed to find.   
By the end of the night, the clan was singing their ancestral songs, clapping their hands and humming along. It was a good night.  
The next night was more reserved. No pokémon had been caught. The night after was the same story, but morale seemed to go down again.   
The following day, she woke up early before the hunters had left and asked Iser to borrow his fishing net. He looked up at her with a curious look, but agreed, handing it to her.   
“Don’t go off alone to far, Reva. It’s still dangerous on your own.”  
“I know,” she said, clutching the bundle to her chest tightly. She waved the hunters off with a forced smile. The next time she saw them they might even have more blood on their hands.  
When they were out of sight, she grabbed some things and sprinted into the trees before her mother could wake up, looking up at a pair of yanma buzzing around.   
“Where was dratini’s pond again?” They buzzed down and around her, before flying off away from camp. She ran after them. “Dratini!” she yelled at the water’s edge, her heart pounding with excitement at being able to see her friend again.   
The pokémon squealed in joy when his head bobbed above the water. She giggled as it came out of the water, splashing her with water. She scratched its neck and laughed.  
“Let’s catch some fish, and then we can play!”  
With that promise in mind, he dove into the water and popped up every once in a while. It didn’t take long for her basket to be filled. It was a warm day.   
On an impulse, she threw off the top layer of clothing and dove into the water, the cold a welcome shock. The dratini swam around her, making sure she wouldn’t drown, nudging her playfully every now and then as she looked into the depths of the pond.   
Ivory caught her eye and she dove deeper, her lungs beginning to burst. She just managed to snatch it before pushing herself up, dratini helping her along the way, fish watching them shoot up.  
She gasped for air, her eyes stinging. Opening her hand, the dragon tooth showed itself.  
“Is it yours?” she asked, but the dratini shook its head, examining the item. “Then it must have been from the last dratini, then. Maybe even a dragonair!” the young pokémon looked at the tooth with renewed awe. “It’s yours.” She extended her hand to him and he took the item, storing it where he could reach it. “Alright, I’m getting cold!” she proclaimed, climbing out of the pond and laying down on the bank, laying down to dry.   
Dratini squirted water up in the air before curling up next to her, looking at how the water particles cast the light into a rainbow.   
There was a low caw, and a massive bird flew across the sky, beautifully coloured feathers out of sight too quickly.  
“Did you see that!? I’ve never seen a pokémon like that before!” She sighed blissfully as her eyes began to sag. 

A nudge in her side woke her up. She’d fallen asleep, but it seemed the dratini had enough energy for both of them.  
Her stomach growled.  
“Alright, I’ll be back in a flash!” she skipped off into the woods and collected all the berries she could hold, coming back and sharing her treasure.  
And then she was off, running and dancing around the pool, playing tag with the dratini, pulling a serious face before bursting out laughing.   
But suddenly, the dratini was around her, twice the speed it had had before. It created a shield seemingly of wind to protect them from an impending threat. She looked out from behind its blue scales at the treeline where Zork stood, bowstring taught.   
“Zork, don’t!” she warned, trying to get in front of the dratini, but it prevented her from stepping into the arrow’s path.   
“But it was chasing you!”   
“No it wasn’t! It was playing with me!”  
“It’s dangerous!”  
“Your bow is dangerous!” she snapped back, pushing forward. The dratini chirped threateningly, but she placed a hand on its muzzle and pushed it back behind her.   
Immediately, Zork loosened the string to prevent the arrow from accidentally being released.   
“Are you going to tell me again that you won’t be my partner if I return to this pond?” he spat bitterly.   
“No.” He looked at her with surprise. “I’m asking you not to, if you do not wish to lose your source of fish.”  
“Are you saying that creature fishes for you?” he asked, flabbergasted.   
“Yes.” She raised up her chin defiantly.  
“Wait until the elders hear about this.”  
“I’ll be outlawed,” she said, realising it. Suddenly, the game seemed a little too dangerous to her. To lose her home, her family, her safety. She’d die without her clan – that was what she’d always been made to believe. You needed family.  
Zork stared at her, only just realising it, too. He turned around, made to leave.  
“Zork-” she began, but couldn’t finish her question. What are you going to do? Will you tell them? Will I be outlawed? Will I die?  
“I can’t lose you, Reva,” he said quietly. No. No, I won’t tell them. No, you won’t be outlawed. No, you will not die as long as I breathe.  
He walked away.  
The dratini slithered up next to her, pushing its head into her limp hand. She scratched its head, giving it a worried smile.  
“He won’t hurt you. I promise.” She looked down at the dratini. “I have to go now.”   
She hugged the creature goodbye. They both knew she wouldn’t be coming back.   
“Grow big and strong, alright!”  
And then she was off, running with her things in hand, trying to prevent the tears from streaming down her face.  
Near camp she stopped and wiped her eyes, then walked into the small circle of empty civilization - everyone was off doing their own tasks again. It was strange how desolate a campfire was without anyone to tend to it.   
Quickly she threw a couple of sticks on the dying flame, and began preparing the fish like she’d done before.

The fish were fanned out and drying outside the reaches of the fire when she heard mumblings.   
“Aye, it’s fertile ground. I don’t understand why we still haven’t managed on hunting anything down,” Iser muttered in return. “We’re going to have to move again.”   
“The women won’t like it.”  
“We don’t have much choice. Without game...”  
“There are some who believe otherwise.”  
Iser scoffed. “Do you think it’s possible to sustain a clan without meat?”  
“I don’t know. I’m going back to my snares. I doubt there’ll be anything in them, though.”  
Iser walked into camp. He greeted her with a smile.   
“It smells great - I see you’ve had some more luck today!”  
“Yes, I have!” she forced a smile.   
“What’s wrong?”  
“Are we leaving soon?”   
“You heard?”   
“Sorry...”  
“No, it’s fine. I was going to tell the clan later today anyway. Yes, we are leaving. It’s like the gods are mad at us - we haven’t caught anything for over a week now. Not even a pidgey to be had.”   
He worried for his clan. If the gods really did hold them in low regard, they would not last the coming winter. She felt his worry, wanted to comfort him, but she didn’t know how to without revealing too much of her late adventures.   
“Where are we going then?”   
“I don’t know yet. Continue following the stantlers, perhaps. But we’ve lost track of them completely. Maybe start looking for a cave for the winter. If there’s an ursaring in it, we’ll manage through the winter... maybe... I’m going to go find Zork and discuss this with him.”  
The camp became a desolate place again. She’d never realized how much Iser needed to think for his clan. Thinking ahead to winter... she rarely thought about the next day! Too impulsive, not suited for a leader role. And yet to be paired to Zork...  
After that her mind remained restless. She didn’t know what to do, the fish would take a while. So she tried foraging around camp, managing to dig up some energy roots that the medicine woman would appreciate.   
She was glad when the others returned. She helped where she could, talked and laughed where possible. The fish was shared, the berries were shared, roots and mushrooms were cooked and eaten, and Iser told them of his plans.  
There were arguments, frustration, acceptance and understanding. They left the next day.   
They travelled for far longer now. She didn’t see a single pokémon while foraging. It was disappointing, and the group’s declining mood started to have its effect on her own. But she kept her own spirits up by realising that every pokémon she didn’t see was another life saved.   
So she started singing. The women joined in, but it took a while for the hunters to loosen their frowns into a smile and join in as well. Iser gave her a grateful look, Zork didn’t meet her gaze even once.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might have guessed, some of the Pokémon are using moves. See if you can guess them from the descriptions...

After a week’s travel, everyone was tired and agitated. When they came across a clearing, Iser stopped them.  
“Let’s rest here a couple of days before we move on,” he said, throwing down the bundle he was carrying and disappeared into the woods to collect wood for the fire. The other hunters disappeared to make use of the last light of the day. Anxiety crept over her. She wanted to run into the woods, too, warn the pokémon, tell them of the dangerous her kind presented with their arrows and their death.  
But the women had to set up the tents first, had to ensure they would be protected if the rain came. It didn’t take long, but every second was agony.  
“Reva, are you alright?”  
“Yes, yes, I’m fine, I’m just... going off into the woods for a minute.”  
And she was gone, running a little ways before slowing down her pace.  
Suddenly, she heard squeaking in the distance, frantic and pain-ridden. Her feet were faster than her brain, taking her to the pokémon calling out for help.  
A furret was stuck in a snare, its movement tightening the string around his neck, his desire to stay alive being the thing that was killing him.  
Her hands were shaking as she approached. He was too panicked to realise she wanted to help, especially when she took out her knife, but she managed to grab a hold of it. Its small paws had sharp nails, scratching her wildly, but she bit through the pain, severing the string and letting him go.  
He didn’t waste time, sprinting into the undergrowth as quickly as he could.  
“Reva, what are you doing?” a voice thundered behind her.  
She turned - why was it always Zork who found her in these situations?  
She looked back down at the piece of string she was holding made by the clan weaver from soaked bark, and then at her stone knife, refusing to meet his gaze.  
He stormed over to her and pulled her up roughly.  
“Why did you let it go?”  
“Because it was dying.”  
“It’s the first thing I’ve managed to catch in weeks! My pride is on the line!” he roared.  
“I couldn’t care less about your pride. You won’t kill anything on my watch.” Zork fumed. She pushed his arm aside, but he held on, backing her up against a tree.  
“You’re going to be my mate - you’re going to have to start listening to me.”  
“Let me go!” she cried out, suddenly afraid of the look in his eye.  
“I’ll hunt every last pokémon I can find,” he threatened, but she kept pushing him off, her skin crawling from where he’d touched her. Too much blood on his hands for it to feel anything close to right.  
“No!” she cried out, again moving away from him, feeling so powerless. He was so strong it scared her. All those hours spent hunting, spent killing. It was disgusting. “Don’t touch me!”  
“Reva! Reva, please! I don’t want to hurt you!” he snapped, after having grabbed hold of her wrists and forcing her to face him. She saw pain in his eyes. For the first time ever, she saw pain in his eyes.  
“Then let me go,” she whispered.  
“I can’t.” His hand cupped the back of her neck. He leaned in.  
A caw, fluttering of wings, and a murder of Murkrows swarmed over Zork. He protected his face, hitting about, trying to rid himself of the birds. A blue shadow passed, it looked at her.  
“Suicune.” Without thinking, she jumped onto the lithe blue body, gripping a hold of the purple flowing hair. She looked around, saw the Murkrows following, and Zork staring off after her, breathing hard, but otherwise showing a calm she wasn’t used to.  
She turned back to the front, daring to sit up a little straighter. The trees whipped past too fast to see clearly. Eventually, the pokémon slowed.  
Through the trees, a large lake was revealed. But they did not slow at the banks. She squeaked when it jumped, but they did not crash through the water. Instead, they were running across the water to a small island with a very old tree draping its heavy branches down.  
She slid off its back, longing to keep her hands on its soft fur. But her knees buckled underneath her and she fell to the ground.  
“Are you alright?” a voice asked, as the blue pokémon brought its head close to hers, two ribbon-like whiskers tapping against her skin every once in a while.  
“I’m fine. Thank you,” she whispered, looking away from the intelligent eyes of blue, “for helping me.”  
“We were all told to keep an eye on you. Didn’t think I would see you, however,” the voice continued. She sensed it was not the blue pokémon talking, and she was right when it stepped aside, a pink face peering up at her from the water, a large clam on its head.  
“Keep an eye on me? Why? By whom?”  
“Xerneas. Apparently your clan is barbaric, but you are not.” It waddled out of the water, more pokémon rising to the surface, and looking down at her from their roosting place up in the trees. “Keep her safe, she is our hope, Xerneas said.”  
“But I’m useless. I haven’t managed to accomplish anything. I have only angered the hunters. The one I am promised to is fervent in hunting pokémon.”  
“You are, at least, trying.”  
“But I am failing!”  
“Then try another tactic.”  
“What? Tell me! What should I do?!”  
The slowking turned its head, looking at the water. Something was coming up. At first, its scales seemed to be cream, but when the light hit it through the leaves, it turned into a wide spectrum of colours, like a rainbow turned solid. Pink eyebrows flowed beside it as it slithered up the bank. “The lady of the lake joins us,” the slowking said in amusement. Her wavering voice came in reply. “She welcomes you.”  
Shyly, she nodded her thanks.  
Its scales bristled slightly, mesmerizing her. A surge of calm passed over her, pulsing through her bones. The look in the milotic’s eyes was like a motherly embrace.  
“You will find a way. We all have faith in you,” slowking stated confidently, suicune grunting in affirmation, the milotic fanning out her magnificent tail, and the rest of the pokémon chirping and tweeting.  
“Thank you,” she whispered, trying to stop her tears. “I... I’ll do my best.” The slowking smiled.  
And then she felt it. A dark presence.  
The northern wind of the suicune was turning sour, a purple mist floating upon it. The pokémon it came in contact with first screeched in pain. When it touched her, she yelped; it stung, like her skin was being seared by poison.  
The milotic rattled her tail and slithered around in a dance, almost immediately rain falling from the heavens. The purple mist dissipated. Every pokémon was on edge now, all looking around them.  
It was a shadow across the water at first, before it hovered over the lake, looking at them with a single bright blue eye. Black claws hung by its side, black wisps flowing out of its shoulders.  
“What’s happening?” she asked the Slowking.  
Milotic used her tail like a dragon, sending a wave out to the shadow pokémon, but he barely wavered.  
“Darkrai stands before us. It is strong. Stronger than you, Milotic.” It seemed Milotic knew that, too, lowering her head in a more defensive stance.  
Suicune jumped out onto the water, catching the dark wave as it was sent towards Reva. It grunted, but stood fast, taking a deep breath before sending off a light beam towards darkrai that was like the milotic’s scales - in every colour.  
The darkrai took the hit square in the chest but he remained where he was, staring at them, again summoning a dark pulse.  
But he was too focussed on them. An azumarill jumped out of the water and attacked it with a frenzy she hadn’t thought possible of the kindly little creature. The darkrai growled in pain.  
Slowking turned to her. “Some pokémon are more effective than others battling the dark. And we are definitely not weak.”  
To prove his point, a group of ledians buzzed forwards, encircling the darkrai. The azumarill dropped back into the water, swimming off quick as it could as the ledians beat their wings as fast as they could, a loud sound directed towards the darkrai that made it claw at its head. It roared, sending out another dark pulse that blast the ledians away.  
It was obvious, however, that it was considerably weakened after those attacks.  
A poliwrath crashed into it with its own body, before clamping onto it and dragging it down to where another poliwrath was waiting. The latter poliwrath grabbed it and threw it off with a merciless power that ended the fight.  
Those who had waited at the sidelines cheered in their own ways. She was proud of the pokémon, but a nagging feeling clawed up inside her.  
Why had the darkrai attacked them?  
The slowking yawned, the shell on its head seeming to clamp down harder.  
“Why...”  
“There’s more to everything than at first glance,” he said wisely, obviously refusing to answer more. “Suicune, take her back safely, will you?”  
“Suicune.”  
She turned to it and hoisted herself up on his back, looking at all the pokémon gathered.  
“I’ll do my best,” she said again, waving at them all with a serious expression before suicune set off at a determined pace. It did not take long before she was back at camp, but the day was already turning into night.  
Suicune parted with a warm nudge against her side before leaping back, the wind strong and cold. It was not a long walk back to camp from here.  
When she’d entered the camp premises, Zork strode over to her, holding something writhing around in a net. He pushed it into her hands and she felt nails digging into her skin.  
“I caught it. Its life is a gift to you. Do what you will with it.” She looked at him with wide eyes, then down at the meowth who was shaking in fear in her arms. When she looked back up, Zork had already moved away.  
This was his apology.  
She shushed the meowth and cradled it, keeping to the edge of camp. Everyone left her alone, two of the younger hunters even openly glaring at her for taking away their dinner.  
The meowth calmed down in her hands. She pulled it out of the net and set it down on her lap. It jumped off, but did not run, instead rubbing up against her leg. With every noise the others made, however, he looked around skittishly, afraid but comforted by her presence.  
This was the breakthrough she needed. The gift was worth more than Zork had realized. She rose, and moved to the women to help them cook. The meowth followed. The women squealed in displeasure.  
But the meowth didn’t run off, hiding behind her, looking at the manic women. Reva petted the meowth, who purred into her hand.  
“You don’t need to be afraid of it,” she said.  
“Reva,” her mother warned, “if you don’t want to kill it, chase it off.”  
“Mother, it won’t harm us. I promise.”  
The youngest child waddled up to the meowth before his mother could stop him. He petted the furry head with chubby fingers, all the women holding in their breaths, worried the meowth would attack, but it didn’t.  
The first crack in how they perceived pokémon had just appeared.  
Instantly, it was love between the two. The boy dragged the meowth to him, and cuddled it firmly, the meowth licking his cheek while purring.  
Without looking at her mother, she took one of the stone knives and helped cutting the day’s harvest.  
After the meal, the meowth lay curled up on her lap. She looked down at it fondly, stroking it every once in a while. It, too, had gotten some food into its round belly. The entire clan had taken a liking to the creature.  
“Reva,” her mother said quietly, sitting down next to her. “Where were you today? You did not return with any harvest... and a gift from Zork. What happened? He was restless when he returned.”  
She did not look at her mother, instead ignoring the question. Her mother sighed, and looked down at the fur ball.  
“What are you going to name him?”  
“Name him?”  
“Yes... after all, he seems to be a part of the clan now.”  
“Why does he need a name?”  
“Well... to separate him from the rest.”  
“How does he differ from other pokémon, mumma?”  
“Because... he’s friendly.”  
“They’re all friendly, mumma. All are harmless.” She thought of the darkrai, and turned her face away before her mother could see the change in expression.  
Her mother didn’t say anything to that, instead extending her hand tentatively, hesitantly, ever so carefully lowering her hand on the meowth’s head. It purred.  
The relieved sigh her mother let out made her smile. She wanted to tell her mother all the adventures she’d had with the pokémon. How they’d taken her places, showed her things, and helped her with her harvesting, but her gut told her it was too soon for all of that, so she swallowed her tongue and watched her mother pet the pokémon who’d opened its eyes slowly, looking up at the older human before standing up, stretching - while digging its claws into Reva - before parading over to Elia and curling up on her lap instead.  
Elia laughed out loud.  
“You’re a cheeky one, aren’t you?” she said, scratching him on his head. “Mihr. I will call him Mihr,” her mother proclaimed happily. 

Mihr - when separated from the toddler, - did everything with Elia. She shared her food with him, she called him along when harvesting, and she let him sleep curled up to her at night. But it was Reva who woke when he started hissing.  
Instantly she was up - she was not the only one. Zork stood by the fire, an arrow already resting upon string.  
Everyone still asleep began stirring. They did not wake, but cried out in their sleep or started crying. Nightmares crippled their sleep.  
There was light in the distance and screeching. Zork raised his bow.  
“No! It’s not them!”  
She felt its presence, meowth hissing at it.  
“RUN!” she shouted at Zork, sprinting towards the lights. He ran after her, leaving the others in their sleep. The darkrai wasn’t after them to begin with...  
It moved after them, she even felt the purple mist on her back again. Zork hissed when he felt it, but kept running besides her until the volbeats came into full view.  
“Reva! We have to -”  
“Trust me!” she looked at him. “Please, trust me.”  
He stayed quiet, then nodded, continuing his sprint towards the swarm of pokémon.  
She’d never seen volbeats so angry. They were illuminating a horde of other pokémon with their lights; the primeapes had wound themselves up into a fury, the veins on their faces close to popping. Mankeys hung around them, riling them up further as they ran towards the two humans, spreading to let them through before closing up their defences, clefables greeting them and jumping around them protectively as they stopped to catch their breath.  
They turned. The darkrai was getting a beating.  
He growled, a dark purple light escaping from him; he’d managed to turn the tide of the battle, every pokémon close to him having fallen asleep. He looked at her as he cast another nightmare curse.  
Zork stepped in between them instinctively, raising up his bow again.  
The clefables came into action now, bunching up in front of the humans. They moved in unison, singing something, wagging their arms, a dazzling light erupting from them, blinding everybody left awake. The darkrai cried out again. It was filled with such pain, she screamed at the pokémon to stop.  
When she could see again, they looked up at her expectantly and shyly, watched her as she ran forwards.  
“Reva, come back! It’s dangerous!”  
But she was already at his side, his bright blue eye closed.  
“No, no, no, no... Wake up...” She looked at the clefables. “Can you heal him?” They looked at each other, before one shuffled towards a mankey and pulled a hidden oran berry, then handed it to her. “He doesn’t need food!” The clefable offered it again “What does this do?” she asked, understanding that the berries were not simply food. The clefable motioned eating. She looked down at the darkrai and pushed one of the white curls aside to show a small mouth. She pushed the berry into his mouth, and he ate it without too much resistance. Its eye flicked open partially before it fainted again. “Another one!” she urged. Two more clefables hurriedly ransacked the private stashes of two mankeys, and she fed them to the darkrai until he slowly opened his eye completely, looking up at her.  
He disintegrated, his shadow falling onto the ground before collecting there and shooting away into the forest.  
“He’s escaping!” Zork shouted.  
“Leave him!” she snapped when he began aiming his arrow again. “Why do you always want to kill them?!”  
“Because he tried to kill you!” he yelled back. She didn’t know what to reply, instead shuffled over to the mankeys, primeapes and volbeats that had fallen to his nightmare spell. Most were waking up slowly, and those who weren’t she shook awake gently, trailing a hand through their fur soothingly, muttering to them.  
Zork was obviously nervous around the mass of pokémon - in turn, they were wary of him. Two primeapes were snorting and showing off their muscles to intimidate him, but Reva gave them a firm talking to, and they sulked off.  
She personally told the three mankeys about their berries, and apologised for taking them without asking, but all accepted her apologies, climbing onto her when she stood up.  
“Aren’t you lot tired?” she laughed, realizing it was still dark. After a few moments, their hyperactivity subsided, and the first one began to yawn. It did not take long before all the monkeys clung to her, falling asleep while gripping her tightly.  
The clefables and primeapes helped her get the young mankeys off, and they took the sleeping pokémon off into the trees, back to their homes to sleep.  
The excitement of the night made her feel faint. She leaned heavily on one of the trees to regain her balance.  
“Reva, are you alright?” Zork asked, extending a hand to her tentatively.  
“I’m fine. Just tired.” He retracted his hand.  
She took in a deep breath and pushed herself off of the bark, walking back to camp. It did not take long before her foot caught in a network of roots.  
Zork caught her by her waist, and lifted her up, cradling her to his chest.  
“Put me down, I can walk!” she snapped.  
“Didn’t you just hurt your ankle?” he asked, not looking at her. She bit her lip, refusing to cry, the pain throbbing through her entire leg. Sucking up her pride, she stayed quiet, instead listening to the world around her to distract her, but all she could hear was his heart beating fervently fast.  
He stood at her tent, and looked down at her, at her lips, then back up at her eyes. He gulped and set her down, saying nothing more, instead heading back to his own tent.  
Trying not to put any weight on her bad leg, she crawled into her tent where Mihr was waiting anxiously, purring loudly with relief.


End file.
